The Becoming
by thedecrepitmonkey
Summary: After the events at the North Pole, the avatar gang once again sets out, this time to find an Earthbending master. With strange things arriving by sea, the task might be easier than they imagined. later on zutara
1. Chapter 1: Safety

hello everyone! this is my first public fanfiction and the first one I'm hoping to finish! later on it will be zutara, but I'm afraid there won't be any of that for a few chapters at least. the story will focus on mainly zuko, aang, and my oc keiko. all of this is subject to change, however. so please read and hopefully enjoy: The Becoming.

disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender. I do own Keiko. I don't write for profit, only for fun!

Keiko leaned heavily on the tree branch and dragged her right leg forward.

'Breathe, Key, just in and out, in and out…'

She had to get away. The shrieks of terror and pain from her neighbors mingled with the cruel laughs of the fire benders and the destruction they were causing. She closed her eyes and tried to ignore it all.

'I tried, I really did try…"

Though her pace was slow, she managed to put a few more feet between herself and her once proud, now burning village. Blood dripped from her scalp into her eyes. They stung, but she paid it no mind. She had sustained many other, more serious, possibly life threatening injuries that night. She cursed when she realized the numbness that had previously only afflicted her right foot had spread up her calf stopping just below the knee.

'Only till the river… then I'll be safe."

The cry of a child almost made her turn around. Almost. A sob escaped her but still she did not stop her painful limp to safety.

'I should have left sooner. Then I would have enough energy to bend my way.'

The thought came into her head and would not leave. It came into her head like the one that had stuck her a few hours ago when she heard the news of the Fire Nation raid that was to occur at her own town: the thought to run, to flee the danger, and to save herself. At first she had ignored it, scoffed at such a cowardly act. However, time until the Fire Nation arrived shortened and her fear greatened. It was funny, she had never been afraid of fire before.

What would they say if they saw her now, her teachers, the village priestess, her brave father? How would they react when they discovered their bending prodigy, and their village's greatest hope had left their people, HER OWN people, to rot? They would spit on her, she thought. She would, if she was in their place.

Of course she had fought at first. When the fire nation came she threw all she had at them, which was very much indeed. For a time it seemed her fear left her and she lost herself in the vicious battle, sinking soldiers in quicksand, crushing their bodies with flying boulders, bending deep crevices in the earth from which many sons of the Fire Nation would never return. She created slabs of earth to carry the innocent townspeople to safety too. All the other able people who had not joined the official fight against the Fire Nation joined with her. Still, many were lost. These soldiers seemed to enjoy killing. It sickened her to think of them, and sickened her even more when she realized that she had enjoyed watching and _feeling_ men suffer and die by her own hand.

Then she had come across _him, _a fire nation soldier who was obviously of a higher rank then most of the ones she had disposed of so far. They had engaged in battle and she soon had found herself overmatched. There was dust and smoke everywhere; she could hardly see. Then it came, a horrible light in the darkness, the flames that consumed her entire right side. In desperation, she pulled two chunks of her precious earth from around the man- no the monster- and crushed his body, feeling his life leave him through the element she controlled.

At that point she had felt the fear return, the absolute horror that would not subside before she had gotten lost in her glorious battle. She was in so much pain… and so tired. If she stood she would have died. So as quickly as she could, trying to ignore her pain, she fled under the cover of ashes and soot. When she came across a little boy crying, she asked him if he would like to go with her. When he would not stop crying, not stop attracting the attention of those _monsters_, she knocked him unconscious with a flying rock. He fell next to a burning building that was on the verge of collapse. She had moved on.

Before he left, her father told her that he was proud of her. That she was an exquisite bender and that he had raised a fine, beautiful daughter. He felt confident that she could and would defend the village in his absence. When she was a little older, if the war was still waging, he would send for her and her great skills would be put to use in the Earth Kingdom's army.

She almost laughed.

By then she had reached the river bank, still clutching the branch she used as a walking stick. She reached the small rowboat that she had once helped some of the children build for their adventuring. She was relieved that it was still there in what appeared to be working condition. With the last of her strength she bended the sand underneath in and pushed it into the river. Slowly she moved and fell into it, screaming out as her burns scraped against the rough wood. When the world stopped spinning and she was again able to breath, she took the small knife from her belt, reached behind her, and severed the rope that anchored the small craft to a nearby tree. She let her arms drop and closed her eyes, sighing with relief. She was safe at last.

It did not matter that innocent people were still suffering and dieing. It did not matter that they counted on her to protect them. It did not matter that she left them to die. It did not matter that she was a dirty coward and a failure. She was safe. She would not die today, not by a twisting, burning, maddening flame. Darkness took her as the river's swift current carried her out to sea.

When Keiko next awoke she found herself looking into the wide eyes of a boy with a blue arrow tattooed on his bald head.

That's it so far! what do you think? please review. I really need feedback. I also need a beta reader. Feel free to email me via the email address in my profile.


	2. Chapter 2: Finders Keepers

disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender.

okay. story, go!

Katara shivered and pulled the hood of her parka up over her head. She was once again atop Appa, flying high above the ocean, high above the world and all of its petty problems. At least, that's the way it should have been, the way it used to be. Now-a-days it seemed that even the joy of flight could not eradicate the negative thoughts that plagued her mind.

Sokka sat on the other side of Appa's saddle, hugging his knees and facing away from the rest of them. He was still obviously upset over Yue's departure. However, Katara was not agonizing over her brother's condition. It had only been two days since the event and his feelings were natural; they were all still a little heartbroken over the loss. Though Sokka had refused to speak about it, she knew he would be okay. He was strong; it would just take him some time.

However, as usual, Katara _was_ agonizing over Aang. The boy say atop the bison's head, reigns gripped in his hands. Momo, his ever faithful lemur, sat close to him, thinking whatever it was that lemurs think. She believed in Aang but that did not stop her from worrying. He was so very young, and they only had such a short time to do so very much. Though they had already found their waterbending master, _she _had mastered the art before him. It always struck her as strange that when Aang did have the opportunity to learn bending, he never took it very seriously until it was almost too late. Didn't he realize that their time was running out?

'Don't be stupid Katara, of course he does. Aang knows it better than any of us.'

Now, it was her responsibility to help him master water while they searched for two other bending masters. She sighed and turned her eyes away from the young avatar to the expanse of the ocean far below her. At least they hadn't seen any sighs of the Fire Nation following them. It made sense though; Zhao was probably still recuperating. Zuko on the other hand… Sokka had pointed out that Iroh's actions involving the moon spirit probably made him a traitor to his nation. Where did that leave Zuko? Was he a traitor as well by association? Katara wondered if they'd be seeing the hot-tempered prince again.

'No matter, if we do, I'll be sure to give him another beating.'

She almost smiled. She was now more than a match for the Fire Nation's prince. She had really come far. She could really help Aang now.

However, her musings stopped when she caught sight of something small in the distance. Was that a rowboat? She squinted. Normally she wouldn't think anything of boats passing by underneath them (unless they were flying the Fire Nation flag), but a rowboat this far out to sea, in this cold?

"Aang!" she called over the sound of the wind. Aang turned to look at her.

"What is it Katara?" he asked, also near shouting.

"I think I see a boat." His eyes immediately widened.

"A Fire Nation ship? Where?"

"No, no," she replied, "Just rowboat. There looks like there is something in it. It might be a person. I think we should check it out. It's just down there." She pointed to where the little boat was floating on the waves. There time was limited, but if there was a person in that boat, Katara knew that they couldn't just leave them. A rowboat would take a long time to reach land either way it was going, a long time that not many could survive exposed to this weather. Besides, the detour would not take very long.

Aang nodded his head and signaled for Appa to start making the descent. Sokka appeared beside her and surveyed the situation. He offered no protest.

As they neared the boat it became apparent that the 'thing' inside the small boat was indeed a person, a seriously injured person.

"Hurry up, Aang." Sokka spoke for the first time in hours. They all hoped that they would not find a corpse.

When Appa stopped next to the boat, Aang immediately jumped into it, aided by his native element. He checked for vitals while Katara and Sokka stared on anxiously.

"Katara, quick! She's still alive but I don't think we have much time." Aang was holding onto some of Appa's fur, keeping the little boat close to the shaggy mammal's side. Katara removed her gloves and using a combination of Appa's saddle, fur, and Aang she made it into the boat safely.

The girl in the boat was badly burned on all of her right side. She had a gash across her forehead and dried blood was caked all around the wound and down the girl's face. Katara was afraid of how pale her skin looked in the fading sunlight. Shaking off her momentary shock, she quickly bended the ocean water into the girls wounds and set to work. She was glad the girl was unconscious, lest the salt in the water cause her more pain before she was healed. She concentrated and sweat and gritted her teeth and nearly cried in relief when she felt the last of the girl's afflictions heal.

At the North Pole, she had learned to fight. Her experience with healing was very minimal. Perhaps this was something she was going to regret. She only knew how to heal the girl's burns because she had done so to herself when Aang lost control while learning to firebend. Suddenly feeling very tired, she collapsed to her knees, rocking the boat.

Recognizing that Katara had finished, Aang spoke.

"Will she be alright?"

"Yes. I've healed all her burns and cuts, but there is something wrong with her leg that I can't quite figure out." Katara responded breathlessly.

"We'll have to bring her to the next town we find," Sokka asserted. Again using airbending, Aang jumped with the girl to Appa's back gently, following shortly with Katara. No one spoke, but Katara could read the dark look in Sokka's eyes: Fire Nation. Aang went back to the reigns and soon they were flying again. Despite being healed the girl did not wake up, and soon Katara felt her eyes closing. Her last thought before she joined the girl in the dark abyss of sleep was of her own mother and her body burned black.

Okay! chapter 2! I realize that this chapter was dull but things will pick up from here. the gang was pretty quiet, but I figure they need time to recuperate from the events at the north pole. please review! criticism is greatly appreciated. I'm still looking for a beta reader.


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